Nicola Valentine Willis (born 7 March 1981) is a New Zealand politician who is a Member of Parliament for the National Party.
Willis took Steven Joyce's seat in Parliament as the next on the party list after his retirement from politics in March 2018.
Early life
Willis was born and raised in Wellington.
She is the eldest of three children.
Willis' mother was a journalist in the Parliamentary Press Gallery.
She graduated with a first-class honours degree in English literature from Victoria University of Wellington in 2003, and earned a post-graduate diploma in journalism from the University of Canterbury in 2017.
She was a member of the Victoria University Debating Society, and competed in international tournaments.
After graduating in 2003, she worked as a research and policy advisor for Bill English.
She went on to serve as a senior advisor to John Key in 2008.
She has also worked for Fonterra.
Political career
thumb|Willis speaking at the 2017 Wellington Central candidates debate Willis contested the 2017 election as National's candidate for the electorate of Wellington Central, and was number 48 on the party list.
Based on preliminary results, she would enter parliament, but in the final results, National went down two seats whilst the Labour and Green parties increased by a seat each.
Willis was second in line should there be a vacancy in a list seat held by a National Party MP during the 52nd New Zealand Parliament, and after the resignations of Bill English's and Steven Joyce in March 2018, she and Maureen Pugh entered parliament.
Leader Simon Bridges appointed Willis National's spokesperson on early childhood education.
Willis was vocal against Grant Guilford's attempt to change Victoria University of Wellington's name to the University of Wellington.
Willis played a significant role in the leadership coup that saw Bridges removed as Leader and replaced by Todd Muller, acting as Muller's "numbers man" alongside Chris Bishop.
She was subsequently promoted to 14th in caucus with the portfolios of Housing and Urban Development, and retaining Early Childhood Education.
Muller resigned after 55 days becoming the shortest serving leader of any political party represented in Parliament in New Zealand's history, being replaced by Judith Collins.
Willis was promoted to the front bench as 13th in caucus, and taking the education spokesperson role.
With Muller's backers Bishop and Willis rising under Collins, political commentators speculated that "potential dissenters are being kept busy with big new portfolios".
During the 2020 New Zealand general election, Willis' party vote place improved greatly from 48th to 13th.
She contested Wellington Central,  losing to the incumbent Grant Robertson, but retained her list seat.
After National Party Judith Collins lost a confidence vote and was removed by the National caucus on 25 November 2021, Willis was seen by the media and commentators as a contender to replace Collins as Leader of the National Party or to become deputy to whoever is elected leader.
Willis became deputy leader with Christopher Luxon as leader on 30 November.
Political beliefs
Willis is described as a social liberal, and has a focus on LGBT rights and action on climate change.
She is a member of the National Party's BlueGreen environmental caucus.
Willis supports euthanasia, and is pro-choice.
Personal life
Willis married Duncan Small in 2007, and they have four children.
References
